


If I Could Make A Man, He'd Look A Lot Like You

by fade_like_starlight



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Prompt Fic, decorating christmas trees with weapons should totally be a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-22
Updated: 2012-12-22
Packaged: 2017-11-21 23:43:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/603358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fade_like_starlight/pseuds/fade_like_starlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>written for the prompt 'wish list' at fuckyeahdarcylewis.tumblr.com/challenges</p><p>Darcy has a wish list for Christmas, and Steve thinks he can put together the clues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If I Could Make A Man, He'd Look A Lot Like You

**Author's Note:**

> title is from 'My Love Is Pink', by the Sugababes.

Steve padded barefoot into the kitchen/lounge that served as the common room for the labs in Stark Tower. Normally, of course, he would be wearing shoes, but he’d just spent two hours letting Tony shoot things at him, then Bruce running all sorts of tests that involved needles and heart monitors and other bits of science, and all he really wanted was a cold drink and maybe a sandwich.

He opened the fridge and found a bottle of water, and as he raised it to take a drink, something very large and very green caught his eye. He turned, still drinking. It was a large Christmas tree - not as big as the one in the lobby, of course, that one was mostly for tourists to gawk at and was nearly 25 feet tall. It was also decorated exclusively in red and gold, which Steve, and everyone else, insisted to each other were perfectly acceptable Christmas colors, and it was certainly not decorated in honor of anybody in particular.

This tree suffered from no similar treatment. The decorations were a mix of colors and shapes and lights and tinsel and - ‘Is that my shield?’ he murmured, heading over for a closer look and nearly tripping on a pair of legs sticking out from beneath the tree.

‘Ow!’

‘I’m sorry,’ he apologized automatically, bending down to see who he’d kicked.

‘Darcy?’

‘Yep,’ she said, wriggling around until her head was visible and she was staring up at him. ‘Damn, you’re tall. What are you doing all the way up there?’

She wriggled back until her top half was hidden under the tree again, and Steve shrugged to himself, then lay down so he was shoulder to shoulder with her.

‘Did you do this?’ he asked her, staring up into the branches. From this angle he could see lights and tinsel and a tiny little bow and arrow set.

‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Took me ages to track down the decorations, they’re sold out everywhere, you know.’

‘I didn’t even know they made them.’

‘Well, technically, we do,’ she said, tipping her head to the side to look at him, and scrunching her nose to push her glasses up.

‘We do?’

‘Stark Industries holds all the merchandising rights for the Avengers. You’d think that’d make it easier for me to get my hands on it all, but nope. I had to go to a Kmart in _Jersey_ for these. You lot had better appreciate this.’

‘I’m sure we do - is that a miniature _microscope_?’ He pointed up to the left side of the tree, and Darcy rested her hand on his chest to lean over him and look. Her perfume smelled like apples and spices.

‘Why, yes, it is,’ she said. ‘That’s for Bruce. It’s not fair that Hulk gets a decoration, but Bruce doesn’t. There’s also a telescope for Jane, a laptop for Pepper, and a little fighter plane for Rhodey. And Clint helped me make a miniature version of the Phase 2 weapon for Coulson.’

Steve smiled. It was just like Darcy to include everyone in her project. He’d noticed that a lot over the last few months, actually, whether it was getting everyone together for Clint’s birthday, or running around the labs making sure the scientists were all fed, or even helping out in the medical wing after an incident. Last time he’d been in there, he’d woken to find her sitting next to his bed, working on a tablet computer, and she’d said she could transcribe notes anywhere, so she might as well sit here. Pepper had been by Tony’s bed, and Clint next to Natasha’s, and Steve had relaxed back into the pillows. He’d never even thought about it before, but every other time he’d woken in a hospital since - well, since he’d woken - he’d been alone or surrounded by doctors. It was immeasurably better to wake to see Darcy.

‘But what about you?’ he said now. ‘We need to represent you on there.’

‘Nah,’ she said. ‘I’m not super in any way, and this is a super tree.’

‘Nonsense,’ Steve said, getting up. ‘Wait here.’

He left and ran back to the lab. Tony was still there, so he explained his request. Tony grinned and rummaged around in a cupboard. Not five minutes after Steve’d left Darcy, he was back. She’d pulled herself out from under the tree, and was pulling more tinsel from a box.

‘Here,’ he said triumphantly, holding out a decoration. ‘One Darcy-decoration.’

She took it and laughed. ‘Is this my old taser?’

‘It is,’ he said. ‘Tony had held onto it after he built your new one, I think he was planning to use it as a toy for the robots or something. It’s non-functioning, but I think it’ll work for our purpose.’

She handed it back. ‘Well, go ahead, Captain,’ she said. ‘Where are you going to put it?’

Steve considered the tree carefully. He knew just where it should go, but he didn’t want to seem eager. Finally, he carefully attached it to a branch and stepped back. It swung slightly, bumping gently into the shield next to it, before settling into place.

Darcy picked up a strand of tinsel and started placing it around the tree. ‘Good call,’ she said.

Steve picked up the other end of her tinsel and helped her finish. ‘So, Miss Lewis,’ he said, deliberately hitting a formal tone, ‘what is on your Christmas list this year?’

Darcy batted her eyelashes. ‘Why, Captain Rogers,’ she said sweetly, ‘it’s a little obscure, I’m afraid. Completely one of a kind.’

‘Oh? I know a little bit about hard-to-find,’ he said.

‘Well, it’s very big,’ she said, sitting down cross-legged to untangle the strand of lights and tipping her head back to look at him. He sat down next to her.

‘Big, okay. Hulk-big?’

She laughed. ‘Not quite. Maybe not big. Tall, maybe. It’s very tall.’

‘Tall, okay.’ He pretended to check off a list in the air. ‘What color?’

‘It changes,’ she said. ‘Mostly blue. Bit of white. Sometimes red.’

‘You want a flagpole?’ Steve asked, only half joking.

Darcy smirked. ‘No, although it is sometimes very patriotic.’

‘I think I’m getting closer,’ he said. ‘Any other identifying marks?’

‘It’s extremely good looking. In very high demand all over the city. In fact, I’m not really sure why some other girl hasn’t already claimed it.’

‘Well, maybe it’s waiting to be claimed by the right girl,’ Steve said.

‘Oh,’ Darcy said, smiling a little sadly at him. ‘I hope the right girl comes along soon, then, it’s a pretty special present and it deserves the best.’

‘What?’ Steve said, flustered. ‘Wait, I thought - are we talking about the same thing?’

Darcy scrunched up her nose again and Steve wanted nothing more than to brush her hair back and smooth the lines from her face. ‘I was trying to be clever and tell you I kind of want _you_ for Christmas,’ Darcy said, looking away.

‘Oh, good,’ Steve said, relieved. ‘That’s what I thought you were saying.’

‘Good?’ Darcy said, getting up and brushing off her jeans. ‘Well, I’m glad I could provide this little ego-boost, and I hope you find that right girl soon.’

‘What?’ Steve said again, jumping to his feet. ‘No - no, I meant you, too! I’m sorry, I thought I was being clear, but obviously not, and -’ he stopped and took her hand. ‘I really like you,’ he said, ‘and I would like it very much if you would have dinner with me tonight.’

Darcy smiled up at him. ‘I always used to beg to open my presents early,’ she said, ‘but I was never allowed. I really do think I’m allowed to make an exception here.’

‘I don’t think I can wait till Christmas for this,’ he agreed, and kissed her.


End file.
